Written by Brett Korpi
The Game: AutoNation Cure Bowl
The Teams: Arkansas State (7-5) vs. University of Central Florida (6-6)
Where: Camping World Stadium. Orlando, Florida
When: 5:30pm EST, Saturday, December 17, 2016
Where to Watch: CBS Sports Network
The Cause: Proceeds from the AutoNation Cure Bowl will directly fund individual breast cancer researchers, like Dr. Annette Khaled, through the Breast Cancer Research Foundation.
What to watch for:
UCF Offense: The Knights start true-freshman McKenzie Milton at quarterback, and have progressed throughout the season running first-year head coach Scott Frost’s spread attack. Look for, Milton who threw for 1,808 yards and 9 touchdowns in nine games, along with running backs Jawon Hamilton and Dontravious Wilson, who each ran for 450 yards and combined for 12 scores, to control the pace of play.
Arkansas State Offense: For the Red Wolves, quarterback Justice Hansen has thrown for 2,514 yards and 16 touchdowns. His top target is tight end Blake Mack who had 585 receiving yards and three scores. Running back Warren Wand led the way on the ground with 867 yards and seven touchdowns.
UCF Defense: Led by twin brothers, Shaquill and Shaquem Griffin, the Knights defense has been stout when it matters most, only giving the opposing offenses a 70 percent success rate in the red-zone, and 30 percent conversion rate on third-down.
Arkansas State Defense: The Red Wolves defense has been porous this season, giving up 532.0 yards and 38.7 points per game. However, they have a pair of monster defensive ends in Ja’von Rolland-Jones and Chris Odom who have 12.5 and 11 sacks respectively. They are each eyeing the Sun Belt Conference single-season record of 13 sacks.
Player to Watch: The aforementioned Shaquem Griffin. The linebacker, was recently named AAC Defensive Player of the Year, has been dominant all season for the Knights. He accumulated 85 tackles, 19 for loss, and 11 sacks. All while playing with one hand, a result of a rare congenital disorder.
The Teams: Arkansas State (7-5) vs. University of Central Florida (6-6)
Where: Camping World Stadium. Orlando, Florida
When: 5:30pm EST, Saturday, December 17, 2016
Where to Watch: CBS Sports Network
The Cause: Proceeds from the AutoNation Cure Bowl will directly fund individual breast cancer researchers, like Dr. Annette Khaled, through the Breast Cancer Research Foundation.
What to watch for:
UCF Offense: The Knights start true-freshman McKenzie Milton at quarterback, and have progressed throughout the season running first-year head coach Scott Frost’s spread attack. Look for, Milton who threw for 1,808 yards and 9 touchdowns in nine games, along with running backs Jawon Hamilton and Dontravious Wilson, who each ran for 450 yards and combined for 12 scores, to control the pace of play.
Arkansas State Offense: For the Red Wolves, quarterback Justice Hansen has thrown for 2,514 yards and 16 touchdowns. His top target is tight end Blake Mack who had 585 receiving yards and three scores. Running back Warren Wand led the way on the ground with 867 yards and seven touchdowns.
UCF Defense: Led by twin brothers, Shaquill and Shaquem Griffin, the Knights defense has been stout when it matters most, only giving the opposing offenses a 70 percent success rate in the red-zone, and 30 percent conversion rate on third-down.
Arkansas State Defense: The Red Wolves defense has been porous this season, giving up 532.0 yards and 38.7 points per game. However, they have a pair of monster defensive ends in Ja’von Rolland-Jones and Chris Odom who have 12.5 and 11 sacks respectively. They are each eyeing the Sun Belt Conference single-season record of 13 sacks.
Player to Watch: The aforementioned Shaquem Griffin. The linebacker, was recently named AAC Defensive Player of the Year, has been dominant all season for the Knights. He accumulated 85 tackles, 19 for loss, and 11 sacks. All while playing with one hand, a result of a rare congenital disorder.